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• LITTLE NECK LEDGER
• WHITESTONE TIMES
Nov. 6-Nov. 12, 2020
Trick-or-treaters head to Queens County Farm
for a socially distanced Halloween celebration
BY DEAN MOSES
For many, the scariest thing about
Halloween this year was the prospect
of it being canceled due to the COVID-19
pandemic.
However, much to the delight of
Queens children all over the borough,
the Queens Country Farm Museum
held a trick-or-treating event on Oct. 31.
From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the iconic
farmland played host to a sold-out ticketed
affair which allowed children to
explore the 47-acre grounds and safely
trick-or-treat while maintaining social
distancing protocols.
Children of all ages barreled through
fallen auburn leaves, touting buckets
shaped like pumpkins brimming
with chocolate. Parents and guardians
scrambled after kids that had — just for
one day — been transformed into monsters,
superheroes, and even first responders.
Like zombies craving brains,
these mini ghouls and ghosts had one
objective in mind: candy. After months
of uncertainty, Halloween was underway
.T
abletops decorated with bite-sized
confectionery were peppered around
the estate, creating pitstops for children
to procure sweets beside barns, chicken
coops, cow pastures, flowerbeds and a
pumpkin patch. Some of these makeshift
stands held other treats, too, such
as bubble bottles and worms families
could take home and place in their
gardens to improve the soil and plant
life. Whereas some were apprehensive
to take a coffee cup filled with earthworms,
a mother and daughter combo
dressed as two bright, pink sharks
jumped at the chance to see everything
the farm had to offer.
“We moved to Queens last year, and
I’ve been here as a teacher and as a
child, and I wanted to bring my daughter
this time for the first time this year,”
said Niaren DeSilva, who originally
planned to take her 1 ½-year-old pumpkin
picking at the Queens County Farm
Museum, but when the tickets sold out,
she was happy to learn about this Halloween
event.
“I was definitely worried that we
wouldn’t be able to trick-or-treat and do
all of the fun seasonal things, but I was
happy to find this and be able to socially
distance and have fun,” said DeSilva.
The highlight for DeSilva was seeing
the animals on the farm and observing
the children’s intricate costumes, and,
of course, being able to trick-or-treat
during these uncertain times.
In addition to collecting all things
sugary, visitors could enjoy exploring a
massive and rather spooky corn maze,
embarking on rumbling hayrides
pulled by large tractors, feasting on
freshly roasted corn shish kabobs, and
taking selfies in a flower garden housing
animal-shaped plants and walls
overgrown with vivid flowers.
This laundry list of activities made
Queens Country Farm Museum the
place to spend Halloween, bringing
such famous faces as Pennywise the
clown from Stephen King’s novel and
terrifying Camp Crystal Lake resident
Jason Voorhees.
The Vanbrunt family were dressed
to impress as horror movie all-stars.
Their 14-year-old son, Andy Rodriguez,
donned a classic “Friday the 13th”
hockey mask. While only being permitted
to watch a few of these slasher
flicks, the costume was inspired by the
online multiplayer video game of the
same name.
“We were all dressing up as scary
characters and Jason is the coolest
scary character to me. I like the game
and I watched the 2008 film,” Rodriguez
said.
Karina Vanbrunt has taken her
children to the Queens County Farm
Museum for many years, and usually
in October they enjoy the fall festivity
of pumpkin picking.
“This is the first time we’ve done
the Halloween on the farm though, we
always come pumpkin picking so when
we saw they were having a Halloween
Photo by Dean Moses
thing we decided to give it a try,” Karina
Vanbrunt said.
She added that she was uncertain
how the holiday was going to turn out
for her children.
“We were hesitant about physically
trick-or-treating, usually around Glendale,
where I live, it gets really crowded
every year. So, we wanted to find a place
that was outdoors and had an open
space where we could decide to leave
if it got too crowded. That’s the reason
why we decided to come to the farm.”
Their youngest son, 7-year-old Caden
Rodriguez dressed as Pennywise the
Dancing Clown the latest adaptation of
the horror classic “IT,” while his 3-yearold
sister, Maya, wore a yellow raincoat
with white face paint and blood to represent
the departed Georgie who meets
his demise at the hands of Pennywise.
“I like Pennywise because it is horror
and I like horror movies,” Caden
Rodriguez said.
Vol. 86 No. 45 44 total pages